Poland asks UK church leaders to counter hostility to Poles

Poland's Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski, right, and Home Affairs Minister, Mariusz Blaszczak, centre, speaking to media during a press conference at the Polish Embassy in London, Monday Sept. 5, 2016. The ministers arrived in Britain Monday for talks about the security of hundreds of thousands of Poles there, following two recent attacks that left one Pole dead and three others injured. Waszczykowski called the trip "an urgent visit," and said he believed that less protection was being offered to Poles in Britain than to other nationals. (PA via AP)
(The Associated Press)

Poland's Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski, right, and Home Affairs Minister, Mariusz Blaszczak, centre, speaking to media during a press conference at the Polish Embassy in London, Monday Sept. 5, 2016. The ministers arrived in Britain Monday for talks about the security of hundreds of thousands of Poles there, following two recent attacks that left one Pole dead and three others injured. Waszczykowski called the trip "an urgent visit," and said he believed that less protection was being offered to Poles in Britain than to other nationals. (PA via AP)
(The Associated Press)

WARSAW, Poland – Poland's President Andrzej Duda says he has written to church leaders in Britain asking them to help prevent attacks on Poles living there.

Duda said Tuesday his letters to the heads of the Church of England and of the Catholic Church in Britain were in support of the Polish government's efforts to obtain better protection for the hundreds of thousands of Poles living in Britain.

Last week, a 40-year-old Pole, Arkadiusz Jozwik, died after he was beaten by teenagers in Harlow, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of London. Three other Poles have been beaten there, and there have been reports of other attacks on Poles across Britain.

Poland's foreign and interior ministers met with their counterparts in London on Monday to seek better security for the Poles.